Off the Beaten Path  Up for Adoption!
by DancinQueen518
Summary: Bella and Alice want to have a little fun during Fall Break. But how did they end up at the Grand Canyon? They meet Edward and Jasper, but will sparks fly or will they hate eachother? ExB JxA M for language and future lemons
1. Reservations

**A/N- Hello! This is my first fanfic so go easy on me! I went on this hike a few months ago but I don't remember all the details, but I tried the best I could to make it exactly like my trip. Sooooo, without further or do, ON WITH THE STORY!**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Twilight or any of the characters. All belongs to the great SM**

Summary: Bella Swan and Alice Brandon are trying to find something to do over Fall Break. Alice stubbles upon a website about a hike down the Grand Canyon and decide to book it. They meet Edward Cullen and Jasper Whitlock on the hike. Will sparks fly or can they not stand each other? All human ExB M for language and future lemons

~0.0~

**Off the Beaten Path**

Chapter 1: Reservations

**B POV**

Ugh.

Even though I love reading, I hate English Lit classes. Slowest 2 hours of my life.

Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit but still…Never mind that, let's start over.

My name is Isabella Swan but I go by Bella. My best friend, Alice Brandon, and I attend Arizona State University and in our senior year. _One more year, one more year, one more year. _And after all the classes are done for today, we'll be on Fall Break.

I was born in a little town called Forks, Washington. You blink, you miss it. My parents got divorced when I was 3 years old and my mom dragged me here, to Phoenix. My dad is the chief of police in Forks. I miss him, but I don't miss Forks. Too much rain. I always used to spend my summer up there with my dad, Charlie, until I turned 14. I met Alice in middle school. We've been best friends since.

Speaking of Alice, she says she has a surprise for me once I get back to the apartment we share. I am not one of surprises but with Alice, you never know what might happen.

I jogged across the busy street to get to our apartment. Our apartment wasn't that big but hey, it was close to the university and better than any dorm room. I climbed up the stairs and jogged down the hallway to our door.

Have I mentioned I love running? It has always been a secret passion of mine that I haven't told anyone. The only person that does know is my mom, who got me started on it. Two summers ago, I told Alice that I was going to Washington to visit Charlie when I was really flying to L.A to compete in a huge marathon. And the great part was Alice didn't suspect a thing, though it was tough trying to hide my huge 2nd place trophy.

When I got to our door I rushed in to see what the surprise was from Alice. I found her in the living room/office sitting down by the computer. I could see her typing away while she was talking on the phone.

"2 for this weekend please…..No, two tents….Yes, mules to carry our bags. Do they get there before we do if we hike down, not take the helicopter? Oh they do? Great!"

"Alice, who are you talking to?"

She motioned me to be quiet. I walked over to her and put my ear to the phone, trying to see if I could hear who she was talking too. But of course, she walked away quickly before I could guess who it was. I went over to her laptop to look at the website, hopefully giving me some clues. I scrolled to the top of the page and read the title, _Havasupai Hike. _

_Oh fuck._

One of my classmates has mentioned this before. Something about a crazy hike down the Grand Canyon. I can't really remember. This cannot be good.

Alice came back a few minutes later with the phone still to her ear.

"Repeat the number again….1598624. Okay, thanks. Bye." She said while writing the number down.

"Who the hell was that and what was that number?"

My curiosity was really getting the best of me.

"That was Jim. He works at the Grand Canyon booking hikes. We are going on this super cool hike, Havasupai Hike! Surprise!"

_Whoa. _

"Oh, and that number was our reservation number. We have to give it to them when we get to Supai Village. This is going to be so fun Bella! We have to go shopping! We have to get a ton of stuff before we leave tomorrow…"

I just tuned her out and looked at the website still on the computer. It says that Supai is a Native American village at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. It has been home to the Havasupai tribe for centuries. It is home to only about 500 people and has a small café, a lodge for the people who don't want to sleep at the campgrounds, post office, school, church, police station, and a general store.

Just learning about the history was making me more and more excited about this hike. Then I clicked on the page about the waterfalls and the creek. The pictures were absolutely stunning and I couldn't wait to actually swim in them. I also learned that Havasupai means "people of the blue green waters" and boy, are they right. The water from the pictures looked so clear and pure. It was a light blue color, almost the color of the sky.

Alice and I made plans to leave early the next morning, so we went out shopping before all the stores closed. While shopping, we finalized how we were going to get there and where we would be staying. We would leave at around 1 in the afternoon on Friday (tomorrow). There is a little town called Seligman on the way to the Hilltop. Seligman, AZ is on the historic Route 66 and based off the movie _Cars. _Alice went all giddy when she found that out because _Cars _is one of our favorite movies. Yes, Alice and I, 20 year old women, love the movie_ Cars. _But come on, who doesn't love Mater?

After spending the night in Seligman, we would drive another 3 hours to get the Hilltop. From there, we would hike down, stay down there until Sunday morning, and hike back up. Easy, right? Boy I was wrong…

~0.0~

**A/N- Okay, so kinda short but the chapters will get longer and longer as the story goes. I know it is kinda confusing so let me clarify on a few things:**

**Bella- 20 years old, major in Communications at ASU  
>Alice- 20 years old, major in Design at ASU<strong>

**Havasupai Hike- 15 mile hike down the Grand Canyon in Arizona  
>Hualapai Hilltop- Start of hike (where Switchback is)<br>Supai- Village at the bottom of Grand Canyon, also where you check in for the campsite  
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**Distances-  
>Phoenix, AZ to Seligman, Az- 4.5 hours<br>Seligman to Hilltop- 2 hours  
>Hilltop to Supai-4-6 hours (10 miles)<br>Supai to campground- 5 miles**

**Hopefully that cleared some things up for ya'll. I also got a lot of this info off the Havasupai Hike website (on my profile). Also, I will try to update every weekend. PM me if ya'll have anymore questions**

**Mads  
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	2. Seligman, Arizona

**Hello again! Here is chapter 2! I was expecting to upload it earlier but my horse went into labor on Thursday and I was busy with her...but I have a brand new healthy baby boy now :)) **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight...I'm just borrowing them.**

**Off the Beaten Path**

Bella POV

Chapter 2: Seligman, Arizona

Friday morning was hectic. Alice threw stuff at me, which I dumped in our bags. Yes, that's how we packed. I was super excited to go on this hike, even if I had to sleep on the dirty floor of the Grand Canyon.

We were all packed up and ready to go at 12, so we figured if we stopped and got lunch, we could be at Seligman by about 5 that night. We decided to take separate cars because Alice said she wants to go visit her aunt and uncle in Surprise. My baby, Red, was a 2011 convertible camaro. My pride and joy. I also have a 1968 camaro, which I was my first car, but that is in my Mom's garage. My 1968 camaro, Ol' Red (Alice's idea, not mine), was my very first car and couldn't let it go. I got way too attached to that old thing. I got Red, because Ol' Red wasn't running very well to be driven every day.

Driving to Seligman, with the top rolled down and music blaring was my ideal way to travel. And driving on Route 66 was even better. Alice and I stopped at almost every gas station on the way to look at all the souvenirs and to take pictures.

We arrived to Seligman at about 6 that night. It was such a cute little town. Old wooden buildings, old cars, old…well, old everything! You felt like you've gone back in time to the early 50's.

We were walking along Main Street and came upon an old pick -up truck in the lawn of a shop. It was all rusty but as you got closer to it, it was actually a tow truck.

"MATER!" Alice screamed.

Alice ran towards it and laughed when she saw big, fake eyes in the windshield.

"Bella, take a picture of me with him!"

Man, I've never seen her this excited about a car before.

Alice got right up beside it and put her head on the hood and spread her arms out, like she was hugging it. I took out my digital camera from my purse and counted to 3 before I took the picture.

"1, 2, -"

"Howdy ya'll! My names Mater. It's like _Tuh_-Mater, but without the _Tuh."_

"AHHH!"

Alice screamed and ran behind me while I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes.

I guess Mater had speakers hidden somewhere in him. I looked at the picture on the camera and it was Alice with her mouth open, right in the middle of a scream, and her eyes bugging out of her head, while about a foot in the air from jumping away from Mater. Alice looked over my shoulder and smacked me on the side of the arm. That picture was priceless!

Once I got over my laughing fit, we started walking back to our little motel. It was getting late and we had to get up really early the next morning if we wanted to start the hike by 7.

As we were walking through the hotel, something caught my attention. A head of messy, unruly, unusual bronze hair, sticking up in every direction. I stopped walking and just stared at the back of this guy's head. My eyes traveled down further to his muscular back. He had on a tight, dark blue tee shirt on so I could see the muscles on his back straining as he picked up a duffle bag. As if feeling someone's eyes on him, he turned around and locked eyes with me.

My breath hitched in my throat as I stared into the beautiful man's eyes. Even from this distance, I could tell they were a bright, emerald green. I don't know how long we looked at each other. I could have been minutes, or hours. I finally broke the eye contact to look at his features. He had high, sharp cheekbones and a jaw that any guy would kill for. He had a straight nose which looked slightly crooked, like he had broken it one point in his life. His eyelashes were so long they casted shadows over his cheeks. I blushed when I realized he had been looking at my face too. He was the most gorgeous man I've ever seen.

Alice talking broke me from my trace with the god across the room.

"Bella, what are you looking at?"

"Hum? Oh nothing," I said dreamily.

She followed my eyes but instead of looking at the guy I'd been staring at, she looked at the guy next to him. I think I saw her eyes widen at the sight of him.

Without really seeing where Alice was going, she walked over to the two guys staring at us.

I couldn't hear what they were saying but Alice turned to me and waved me over. I made my way over as graceful as I could, and thankfully I didn't trip.

"Bella, this is Edward Masen and Jasper Whitlock!" Alice said once I was over to where they were standing.

Huh, so Edward was the god's name. It fit him.

"Hi Edward, Jasper. As Alice already said, I'm Bella."

I shook both of their hands but when I shook Edward's, it felt as if an electric shock went up my arm and down my spine. I think I jumped slightly and Edward noticed it too.

"Sorry," He mumbled. His voice sounded velvety.

I smiled at him and he smiled back, flashing his perfect white teeth. I was about to ask them why they are here, but Alice beat me to it.

"So, are you going hiking?"

"Yeah, we are on Fall Break and leaving tomorrow morning to do the Havasupai hike."

I looked over at Alice and she looked as if she were drooling over Jasper's voice.

"Oh cool! Us too! We go to ASU and are on Fall break also. Do you guys go there?" Alice asked back.

"Yeah, we go to ASU. What year are you guys?"

"Seniors. I'm majoring in Design and Bella's majoring in Communications. What are your majors?"

"We're seniors too. I'm majoring in History and Edward is majoring in Music."

I decided to cut in then.

"You play an instrument, Edward?"

"Um, yeah, piano."

Edward said it as if he was embarrassed to tell people he played. His ears were all red, so I wanted to help him out.

"There's no need to be embarrassed, Edward. I think that's amazing! I've always wanted to learn but never really found the time. How long have you been playing for?"

"Since I was about 3 years old. So, your major is communications?" I nodded. "Cool. What do you plan on doing with that degree?"

"Um, I don't really know yet. Maybe journalism but I really want to write a book."

"Well, if you do write a book, I'd be the first in line to get it."

He gave a crooked smile and I felt my knees go weak. I looked into his eyes again and got lost in them. Then, Alice of course had to interrupt us.

"Damn, its late Bella! We have to get up at 4 in the morning. Let's go! Bye boys, maybe we'll see you later!"

"Bye Alice."

Jasper gave her a kiss on the cheek and Alice looked ready to faint.

I turned back to Edward.

"Bye Edward. Nice meeting you."

I turned away in the direction of our room but someone grabbed my hand.

I turned back and saw Edward leaning down to give the back of my palm a light kiss.

"Goodnight Bella."

~0.0~

**TADA! Hope ya'll liked it!**

**See ya'll next week**

**~Mads**


	3. Hilltop

Bella POV

**Off the Beaten Path**

_RRRIIINNNGGG!_

Who the hell would be calling this early in the morning?

"Alice, get the phone," I said into my pillow.

I still had my eyes closed but I could hear Alice shuffling around trying to find the hotel phone in the dark.

"Hello? Oh, thanks, bye." I opened up one eye to see Alice standing over me. "That was our 4 a.m. wake up call."

_Ugh._

Why am I up this early on a Friday morning? Oh yeah, I'm hiking down the Grand Canyon today.

_Yippee!_

Note sarcasm.

I went to take a quick shower and when I was about to turn the water off, I remembered that this is the last shower I'll have in 3 days. I turned the temperature up as hot as my skin could take and just stood under the falling water. After about 10 minutes, I turned off the water.

Goodbye shower.

Alice hopped in after me while I dried my hair and put it into a high ponytail. I didn't bother with makeup because we wouldn't wear any this weekend anyway.

Once we were all ready at about 5, Alice and I went down a floor to get breakfast. We walked into the dining area of the little hotel and got in line for food. We found a table by a window and just as we started eating, I saw a head of familiar bronze hair walk into the room. Edward and Jasper didn't even notice us yet. They got their food and were looking around to try to find a table. Edward's emerald green eyes landed on me and I waved them over.

"Hey guys! You excited about the hike?"

Man, I wish I was that awake at 5 like Alice. She's just one big ball of energy. I don't know why she drinks coffee in the morning.

Edward smiled at me before answering Alice's question.

"We are very excited. Have you guys ever done this before?" Edward sat down next to me right when I let out a huge yawn. "Wow. Looks like someone's not a morning person."

Tease.

"No, I am never up this early. My first class starts at 11 so I get to sleep in. And, no, this is our first time doing this hike."

"Jazz and I have done this hike one other time but it was with our friend, Emmett. He couldn't make it this weekend…." Edward kept on talking but to be honest, I wasn't really listening. He looked to sexy in his tight white jogging shirt. I could see his perfectly sculpted chest and abs.

I looked back up at his face to see he had a smirk on his lips.

_Damn. _

I got caught ogling him. Oh well, I could see him checking out my outfit when he was walking over to our table.

All of us talked for about 30 more minutes when we decided we needed to head out to the Hilltop. It was another 2 hour drive there and if we wanted to start the hike at 7, we needed to leave. We walked out of the dining area to the parking lot. The air was cool and fresh, about 70 degrees.

_Not bad for fall in Arizona. _I thought to myself.

Usually at this time of year, it would still be about 80 to 90 degrees in the afternoon. Alice had chosen the perfect weekend for this trip.

We agreed to meet each other at the Hilltop because Edward and Jasper needed to get gas and fill up their water jugs. Edward kissed me on the hand just like he did last night and hopped into a huge 4x4 Jeep. Alice and I waved them off before getting into our own cars. We rolled the tops down when Alice shouted at me.

"Race ya there!"

"Your on!"

And like that, we were off. The next 2 hours were spent purposely cutting each other off and cursing like sailors when one of us got ahead of each other. _Good times, good times._

We reached the Hilltop about an hour and 15 minutes later because of our speeding. We unloaded all our stuff, went to check it in for the horses, and waited for the boys to show up. I had a look around the small parking lot and to my surprise, there weren't a lot of cars here yet.

We didn't have to wait that long before Edward and Jasper came flying in the parking lot. Alice and I watched as they unloaded their jeep and went to check their packs in. Once they were done with that, they came over to us.

"How long have you girls been there?" Jasper asked us.

"15, 20 minutes maybe."

"Good. What do say we hit the trail?"

"Let's do it!"

All of us did some quick stretching before we went to the end of the parking lot. Edward said that if you didn't stretch, you get killer muscle aches and can seriously hurt yourself. Good thing he told us that.

We reached the beginning of the Switchback and all of us looked over the edge.

_Wow._

Defiantly wasn't prepared for that!


	4. Stampede

**Hello! I am soooo sorry for not updating in so long. My senior year has been kicking me in the ass and my life is just non- stop busy! My horse's baby is doing great, he is just a crazy little fella! I named him Two Step because he does this little weird trot thing while playing and it kind of looks like a two step dance! Hahaha Also, I went on a cruise. AMAZING! AANNNDDD last but not least, I got accepted into the university I wanted to go to! It is the University of Belize in Belize City, Belize. If ya'll don't know where Belize is it is in central America. Parents are moving with me to start a new business. Okay, so enough with my life…here's the next chapter!**

Bella POV

Chapter 4: Stampede

"Wow." All four of us peered over the edge to see a 500' drop off. Along the edge of the cliff, you could see the horse-made trail going in a zig- zag pattern.

"Oh my god, are we seriously going down there?" I looked over at Alice and she looked like she was about to have a panic attack.

"Yup," Jasper said, popping his p at the end. He made it sound like the easiest thing in the world. He and Edward started down the trail, camelbacks on their backs, without a second glance back at us.

Alice and I looked at each other puzzled but just shrugged it off and followed the boys.

The Switchback was only about 2 miles of the hike, and from what I'd heard, the hardest. People said it was so easy going down, but coming back up was the killer. Hopefully it would be worth it.

The Switchback was mostly shaded from the rising sun so the air was nice and crisp, not yet burned with the heat of the sun. With a few gusts of wind now and then, it was actually kind of cold. The scenery was breath-taking. The shadows from the cliffs above us casting down the opposite side of the canyon. The cloudless, bright blue sky. The red- brown boulders sitting on the ground. The high canyon walls towering over us. We even saw some wild life like a few cute squirrels or giant black hawks.

The Switchback was also very busy with natives from the village trying to get packs from the parking lot to the campground. Horses flew past us every now and then with huge bins of mail or groceries on their backs for the people in the village. We didn't see too many hikers on the trail, but I'm sure we will see some the closer we get to town.

We hiked the 2 miles in an easy conversation, telling our likes and dislikes and what we plan to do with our lives once we get out of college. I learned that Edward is originally from Chicago, Illinois and Jasper is from Huston, Texas. They are roommates along with their other best friend, Emmett, who couldn't make it for the hike.

Before we knew it, we were at the bottom of the Switchback and canyon. We had met the sun at the bottom of the Switchback and were immediately hit with the warmth. We stopped to take a break and stretch some more. We started walking again and every step getting hotter and hotter. We were having an overall good time when things went from good to bad.

We were about 5 miles into the hike when we started to feel the ground shake beneath our feet. We stopped and looked around but saw nothing and thought we were all imagining it.

_That was weird. _

But as we moved on, the ground kept shaking harder and we heard a low rumble, like thunder, stalk towards us. We all listened inventively and looked around us again.

"What is going on?" Alice asked in a scared voice.

"I don't know, maybe an earthquake," Edward too sounded scared but tried to hide it in his voice.

"We don't have earthquakes in Arizona!" Jasper said in a panicked tone.

Just then, we heard the stomping of hooves and turned our heads to see where the noise was coming from. Out of no where, about 50 horses came running along the path with packs on their backs, not slowing down, even with us in the middle of the path. We needed to get off the path. And fast.

My adrenaline was pumping so hard at that point. It felt like I was running the final mile of a marathon, so close to the finish line, yet so far away. The canyon walls felt like they were closing in on me, and I had no where to run. The horses, now a mere 20 feet away, would likely kill me if I didn't act fast.

As if thinking as one brain, all of us dived into a shrub a few feet off the path.

_Fuck! _

The shrubs had thorns!

We all covered our heads as the horses raced past us and rounded the corner. I noticed that Edward's body was half covering mine, as if protecting me.

As soon as the rumbling was no longer in hearing sight, we started to move.

"Ouch! Shit! Is everyone okay?" Edward asked getting out of the scrubs. He held out a hand for me to take to pull me up. Once I was safely back on my feet, out of the shrubs, I looked over my body. There were a ton of little scratches on my arms, legs, and neck, but nothing too serious. And looking over at everyone else, they seemed alright too.

"That was fucking awesome! Did you see how fast they were running? Oh, I wonder if they were carrying our bags," Jasper said.

"Okay, so lesson learned. The horses don't move for you, you move for them," Edward replied.

"You got that right!"

We carried on about 2 more miles until we came across a fork in the path.

_Uh oh._

Which way do we go? What if we take the wrong path? What if we get lost and never find out way back to the Switchback or village? What if…

A thousand questions were running through my mind. But then something came to my rescue.

"Bark bark!"

"Was that a dog barking?" I asked.

Just then, a golden, short haired lab- looking dog came into our site. The dog came up to us and started sniffing and licking us.

He was very dirty. His fur matted with dry mud and his paws and nose covered in dirt.

"He must be from the village," Alice said.

"Maybe. He doesn't have a collar, but he doesn't look like a wild dog," I informed.

The canyon dog then started to walk away from us, going down a path. He looked behind him and barked, then walking faster.

"I think he wants us to follow him."

"Okay, let's do it!"

We caught up with the canyon dog and followed a little bit behind him.

"Hey, we should name him!" Of course Alice wanted to name him. I thought about it for a minute until I came up with a great name for him!

"His name should be Canyon!"

"Perfect!"

So, we set off again, with a new companion this time. Canyon was an excellent guide dog. I wonder if the people in the village trained him to do this or we were just following some random dog.

_Well, we'll find out soon enough._

~O.O.O.O.O.O.O~

**Well, what do ya'll think? When I did this hike, our weekend motto for the horses was "You move for them, they don't move for you." Good advice if you ever go on this hike! Also, we really did have a guide dog lead us to the village for about the last ¾ of the hike (And yes, I did name him Canyon).**

**So it is Halloween tomorrow! What are ya'll dressing up as? I am a cheerio cheerleader from Glee **

**Remember, review, review, review!**

**~Mads**


	5. Author's Note! IMPORTANT!

**A/N: OFF THE BEATEN PATH UP FOR ADOPTION! **

Unfortunately, I cannot continue this story due to family problems. But I don't want to delete Off The Beaten Path…I was hoping someone could continue my story for me. It would mean the world to me if you somebody could! PM me if you are interested.

Thanks ya'll!

~Maddie


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